You don't expect this chap's opinion to respond to facts, do you? Axe grinding never does. :rolleyes:

It matters because of something called the "RULES". Officials can only flag things that are against the RULES, not just because something went bad for your team.

This made it easy to judge you. NFL officials are the closest to perfection that exist in the officiating world. I could see if someone would say this about NBA officials due to the nature of the sport.

If you talk to NFL officials, they will mention that the players they are officiating are very very quick/fast. They are required to make judgments about situations that occur a lot faster than what we we see with HS kids and college kids. The major difference in any sport as you move up levels is speed/quickness. We have 300 lb. linemen at the HS level but they are not nearly as athletic as NFL guys.

I think fanboy should attempt to be out on the field with 22 of these guys moving at the same time.

Objectivity blurred.....
 

Obviously, the comments here, including yours, are posted by Steeler and Ravens fans. Let me clear things up for you. Watch the replay in slow motion. You will see McGahee clearly being hit on the side of his helmet with the crown of Clarks helmet. There are specific rules regarding this which I'll post:

13. A tackler using his helmet to butt, spear, or ram an opponent.

14. Any player who uses the top of his helmet unnecessarily.

These rules are specifically aimed at defensive players, not the offense. I'm not saying the outcome of the game would have been different(most likely not)but it would be nice to see the officials make appropriate calls on relatively obvious plays such as this. This may be too much to ask considering they somehow ruled against the Steelers in the first half on whether or not there was a completion/TD by Holmes. After review, I thought the only question would be if he actually got into the endzone yet the officiating braintrust somehow ruled an incomplete pass?????

you may want to check those rules
 

13. A tackler using his helmet to butt, spear, or ram an opponent.

14. Any player who uses the top of his helmet unnecessarily.

These are two rules infractions resulting in a 15 yard penatly. The replay clearly shows Clark leads with the crown of his helmet, not his shoulder as some here would like to believe, striking MaGahee between the front and side of his helmet. Those two rules apply to defensive players for those of you wondering why runningbacks/recievers can lead with their helmet and defenders can't.

closest to perfection???
 

How is it these perfect officials continue to screw up. I actually wanted to see the Steelers lose if given a choice, with that said, how did the replay officials come up with the reversal of Holmes catch on the goal line in the first half?? If it were ruled incomplete on the field, the replay showed he clearly caught it. The only question was, whether or not he got into the enzone with it(debatable). Calls like this happen in every game, week in, week out. In the earlier game yesterday, they blew several calls. Roughing the punter comes to mind for one, when the replay showed the punter actually makes the contact by collapsing on top of the defender as if he were shot in the head. Please dont try and defend the officiating in this league. It's borderline criminal. Maybe you should look into the difference in revenue the league generates when small vs. large market teams are in the superbowl. Money corrupts. If you dont believe that then your head it buried deep in the sand.

Two posts and you know of JR's objectivity? LOL.

Directly to your point, read the rule you quoted above and explain how the phrase "any player" applies only to defenders.

Specifically about the play in question - the tackler lead with his shoulder. The fact that there was helmet to helmet contact does not necessarily mean there was a foul. Not all helmet contact is unavoidable. Which, by the way, is why players wear helmets.

Aren't there fan sites where you guys can go and blame someone for your loss?

because this specific rules applies to tackling maybe??? last time i checked, the defense was responsible for that. As I posted earlier, watch the replay then come back and tell me the defender does not lead with the crown of his helmet and makes contact with his helmet before his shoulder. FYI, the objectivity comment relates to all the Raven/Steeler fans here, not just JR's.

I second that...as long as he's wearing pads and standing in the neutral zone ;)

Hmmmm...so what do you call it when the kickoff or punt coverage team brings down the ball carrier? What do you call it when the offense has to stop the thief who intercepted the QB's errant throw?

References please?

Since you are trying to split hairs, in NFL rules the teams in possession is the offense and their opponents are the defense so in your two examples it is the defense who is bringing down the ball carrier and stopping the thief.

Your joking right??
 

ummm, are kickoff or punt coverage teams considered to be playing offense or defense? Once a ball is intercepted, is the team that was just intercepted still playing offense???? Is this concept beyond your mental capabilities??? Comments from refs like yourself kind of prove my point that the game is well beyond your mental abilities and it is time for leagues to allow a bit more technology into the games to assist the poor state of officiating.